Tougher sentences may not be right course in all cases

Published: Friday, March 22, 2013 at 01:09 PM.

Reading the news about females committing crimes of a sexual nature is unusual. This type of sociological pattern leads us to believe that she should be sentenced harshly. But sending the Alamance County woman found guilty of prostitution in front of her children to prison for a long time may not be the answer in this case.

In her past she has been convicted of larceny and sentenced to eight months in jail. Obviously being sent to jail for eight months did not deter her from committing another crime. This individual has graduated from stealing to prostitution. Is it possible that she stole something in the past to fuel a drug habit? That would explain why she is still committing crimes to support this habit. Odds are she has been committing many types of crimes before jail and before prostituting in front of her children to fuel her drug habits.

I do not have enough information to definitively say she is a chronic offender or a career criminal. I will say that studies show that drug treatment programs have been more successful in the past than prison. A harsh prison sentence in this case is only masking the problem and not fixing it. By the judge sentencing her to a drug treatment facility she has a better chance of being released back into society as a productive citizen. If she was to get the maximum sentence for the three indecent liberties with a minor charges she would probably not be released until all of her children have grown up. That would likely send her spiraling back into a web of drugs, sex, and abuse adding to her chances of becoming the victim herself or committing more heinous crimes than before.

As a country we need to take a different approach with criminals. I am very happy to see a judge in Alamance County trying to fix a problem rather than masking it only to get worse later on. Only time will tell if she turns her life around, but I am cheering for her to beat her addiction nd make amends with her children.

REBECCA WELCHElon

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published
without permission. Links are encouraged.

Reading the news about females committing crimes of a sexual nature is unusual. This type of sociological pattern leads us to believe that she should be sentenced harshly. But sending the Alamance County woman found guilty of prostitution in front of her children to prison for a long time may not be the answer in this case.

In her past she has been convicted of larceny and sentenced to eight months in jail. Obviously being sent to jail for eight months did not deter her from committing another crime. This individual has graduated from stealing to prostitution. Is it possible that she stole something in the past to fuel a drug habit? That would explain why she is still committing crimes to support this habit. Odds are she has been committing many types of crimes before jail and before prostituting in front of her children to fuel her drug habits.

I do not have enough information to definitively say she is a chronic offender or a career criminal. I will say that studies show that drug treatment programs have been more successful in the past than prison. A harsh prison sentence in this case is only masking the problem and not fixing it. By the judge sentencing her to a drug treatment facility she has a better chance of being released back into society as a productive citizen. If she was to get the maximum sentence for the three indecent liberties with a minor charges she would probably not be released until all of her children have grown up. That would likely send her spiraling back into a web of drugs, sex, and abuse adding to her chances of becoming the victim herself or committing more heinous crimes than before.

As a country we need to take a different approach with criminals. I am very happy to see a judge in Alamance County trying to fix a problem rather than masking it only to get worse later on. Only time will tell if she turns her life around, but I am cheering for her to beat her addiction nd make amends with her children.